Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., graduated from Morehouse College (B.A., 1948), Crozer Theological Seminary (B.D., 1951), and Boston University. He was the son of the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. King was ordained in 1947 and in 1954 he became the minister of a Baptist church in Montgomery, Ala. He led the black boycott (1955-56) of segregated city bus lines and in 1956 gained a major victory and prestige as a civil-rights leader when Montgomery buses began to operate on a desegregated basis.
King organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which gave him a base to pursue further civil-rights activities, first in the South and later nationwide. His philosophy of nonviolent resistance led to his arrest on numerous occasions in the 1950s and 60s. His campaigns had mixed success, but the protest he led in Birmingham, Ala., in 1963 brought him worldwide attention. He spearheaded the Aug., 1963, March on Washington, which brought together more than 200,000 people. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM TO JAIL

On Good Friday in 1963 Martin Luther King and a group of blacks demonstrated in Birmingham to protest the existing segregation laws. The clergymen wanted them to stop these demonstrations and so they wrote a letter to Martin Luther King that was also published in newspapers. In his answer he wants to justify the desperate need for nonviolen direct action, the absolute immorality of unjust laws that were no laws and in his opinion they had not lived up tp their responsibilities as people of God.
In the very beginning he explains the blacks' actions that were well thoughtful planned. “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue”.
In my opinion Martin Luther King and his "members" were entitled to start demonstrations against their rights. I like the way he asks the clergymen for improvement and respect, especially the paragraph where he mentions a lot of (personal) situations e.g. where blacks are not allowed to do something: "(...) when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"(...)." For me everyone is the same and has the same rights, there can not be make a different between your skin color, where you come from or how you behave; every single person is made from God and God wants us to protect the given land, our earth, and to be responsible for that. We are living to make the world a better place and not to argue or to fight.

12/13/09: The last part of the letter:
Furthermore he talks about the Church. He explains again why he thinks that their demonstrations were necessary: If someone is ignored he will become violent and he will fight for their "God-given" rights.
King also explains that “black nationalist” groups are becoming prevalent in society and he has faith that the “Negro Church” has had direct influence in keeping the violence from erupting. Concerning the Church he is disappointed: “In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the Church. There can be no deep disappointment where there in not deep love”. In the end he sums up what he wants to achieve with his letter: he wants the Church to become active and to stand up for the African American rights and at the same time to prevent that they become violent.
I like King's way he writes, he sounds like a diplomat and tries to convince the reader.